HRI accused of 'abusing its position' as Suzanne Eade receives grilling

Horse Racing Ireland chief executive Suzanne Eade received a robust grilling from parliamentarians in Dublin on Wednesday evening on her first appearance before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture since taking over from Brian Kavanagh last October.

The session, attended by Eade along with senior HRI executives Jason Morris and John Osborne, followed established custom whereby the incoming chief executive of a state body is invited by the relevant joint committee to offer an outline of the opportunities and challenges facing the organisation.

Eade, who delivered a comprehensive opening statement dealing with HRI's key strategic priorities and surveying major issues facing Ireland's racing and breeding industries, faced incisive questioning spearheaded by Sinn Fein agriculture spokesperson Matt Carthy TD and Independent Senator Ronan Mullen.

Carthy and Mullen queried Eade about media/data rights negotiations currently being conducted by HRI and the Association of Irish Racecourses. The existing deal with SIS runs until the end of 2023 and both public representatives continued to press for information after Eade cited "commercial sensitivities" in declining to discuss specific details of current or possible future arrangements.

Carthy posed a series of questions relating to the overall funding model for Irish racing, while the sharpest exchange of the session occurred when Mullen accused HRI of "abusing its position" through a disproportionate distribution of income, favouring larger racecourses, including the four owned by HRI, to the detriment of smaller tracks.

Eade robustly defended HRI's impartiality as Mullen called for an independent review of the data/media rights process.

Several committee members alluded to the anti-doping regime operated by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board, and related issues in which direct responsibility resides with IHRB, rather than with HRI.

'I favour an independent regulatory body'

Eade welcomed the IHRB's moves towards "greater transparency and more effective communication of information".

Asked about a possible merger between the two bodies, Eade said: "I favour an independent regulatory body. Irish racing has two effective executive teams in place and we work well together in a crisis. But there is work to be done in terms of achieving greater synergies."

In her opening statement, Eade said HRI "has a clear vision as set out within its strategic plan 2020-24, to make Ireland the global leader in horse racing and breeding".

She added: "The HRI board and the wider organisation's resources are focused on priorities which will deliver that vision."

Eade referenced the impact of Brexit. She said: "The ongoing uncertainty surrounding the UK's relationship with the EU and the rest of the world, is very challenging. Broadening our marketplace beyond the UK – which accounts for 80 per cent of our exports – is a key strategy for HRI to counteract potential Brexit impacts.

She said Brexit had brought "considerable logistical and financial issues, with significant additional costs, extra paperwork and planning around horses' movements that at one point were seamless under the previous Tripartite Agreement."

Eade addressed a matter close to the heart of committee chair Jackie Cahill, Fianna Fail TD for Tipperary, when speaking about the planned all-weather track in the county.

She said: "Our investment in Tipperary racecourse makes it a key piece of infrastructure and the track's associated training facilities and community amenities will not only be of benefit to its immediate neighbours, but to the county as a whole, building on the already 2,500-plus jobs which are supported directly and indirectly by racing in County Tipperary."

Anticipating an issue later raised by several committee members, Eade spoke about insurance problems in the industry.

She said: "We are concerned about the significant difficulties felt by the point-to-point and pony racing communities, two key grassroots sectors, in acquiring insurance cover – a situation that puts the long-term viability of both in doubt."

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